AFC Challenge Cup 2012:Philippines will start the preparation for the Challenge Cup by playing a friendly match against Uzbekistan on February 11.
Philippines national team will formally begin the preparation for the Challenge Cup by flying off to the United Arab Emirates in early February.
Initially the team scheduled a friendly with Partizan Belgrade, currently the top team in Serbia who often compete in the UEFA Champions League,however due to visa issues Partizan will now travel to Israel instead.The Philippines has reportedly scheduled games with Azerbaijan and the Australian U23 team in Dubai before flying off to Qatar to play Al Arabi who finished fourth in Qatar’s league last season and are the second most successful Qatari side.
Interestingly, German and Argentinian legends Stefan Effenburg and Gabriel Batistuta finished their careers with Qatar.
The camp should provide good time for the team to work on its cohesion and organization ahead of the tournament in March.
Which players are available will become clearer as time passes, though with an unprecedented number of Azkals joining the UFL
from European leagues the team may only be missing a few players.
On March 9, the Philippines will begin its campaign against 2010 World Cup Qualifiers and reigning Challenge Cup Champions North Korea.
The Philippine team will then play the 2008 champions India on March 11 and the 2006 winners Tajikistan on the March 13.
Semifinals will be held on March 16 with the finals on March 19.
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